Heb. 8:6

"But the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which He is mediator is superior to the old one, and it is founded on better promises."

High priests described in the Old Testament had to periodically offer gifts and sacrifices for the sins of the people, but Jesus offered Himself once for all. Now at the right hand of the “Majesty in heaven” (v. 1), He serves in the sanctuary set up by the Lord, not by man. Furthermore, the apostle Paul noted that God has given us the ministry of reconciliation and made us competent as ministers of the new covenant. We can proclaim Christ to the world’s peoples with the knowledge that His promises are sure and His covenant secure.

Jesus, we thank You for Your wonderful promises and covenant. Find us faithful as ministers of this covenant.

Cult Members in Japan

(Review yesterday’s entry) The charges against the Byrams were, among other things that they were causing citizens to disobey the laws of the Japanese Empire and they were propagating a religion that was diametrically opposed to State Shinto. All day long they were questioned, but not about these charges. “What does the Bible teach about the kingdom of God?” “About the coming King who you say will rule the whole earth?” “Where will Japan be in the set-up?” They were curious to know what the Bible said. Among the “evidence” the court had gathered were mimeographed lessons on “Signs of the Lord’s Near Return,” and other Bible doctrines in Korean! At last the judge returned the verdict, “Judgment deferred for two years.” This meant they were not guilty for lack of evidence!

The Byrams were repatriated in a trade of Japanese prisoners for American prisoners in 1942. Thereafter, Bertha Byram spent a week each year in prayer and fasting, living on “prison fare.” Prison had schooled her well for she became a woman of prayer, praying for missions all over the world. It was her own acknowledgment that in the years after returning to the U.S. she accomplished more missionary work by prayer than she had on the mission field.-AL from “Brought Before Governors for a Testimony,” by Bertha Stanley Byram, M.D., and an interview with Mertie Heimbach.